$18B LCDS-funded climate strategy to convert 80,000 acres into farmland – Jagdeo

Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo has announced that a major $18 billion climate-resilience agriculture project is currently underway in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), aimed at preventing flooding and significantly expanding agricultural land to support small farmers.

The initiative is fully funded through Guyana’s earnings from its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 via carbon credit sales—marking a transformational use of climate finance.
Speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo detailed that the Government is building 86 kilometres (km) of flood protection embankments stretching from Mahaica to Abary. This includes 45.9 km between Mahaica and Mahaicony, and 40 km between Mahaicony and Abary. Complementing the embankment works are 510 km of internal drainage, which will make the area far more resilient to water accumulation and potential flood damage.
As a result, the Government will unlock 55,000 acres of new farmland—31,000 acres between Mahaica and Mahaicony, and 24,000 acres between Mahaicony and Abary. According to the VP, these lands will be prioritised for small-scale farmers and new entrants into agriculture, many of whom are currently constrained by limited land access.
“New land would be available now to distribute, particularly to small farmers and people who are just starting in, because a lot of our smaller farmers now need… land… to expand cultivation”.
“This project is not costing taxpayers a single cent, it is fully funded from our LCDS earnings – which the APNU (A Partnership for National Unity) never earned with their failed ‘green state’ agenda,” Jagdeo said. “This is tangible proof that climate finance, when managed properly, can directly uplift small farmers and drive national development.”
Meanwhile, over in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), similar work is underway, with 42 km of flood protection embankment and 103 km of drainage canals being developed. This will open another 30,000 acres of farmland, bringing the total to 85,000 new acres of arable land between the two regions.
Additionally, the Government is resuming a shelved project from the Essequibo Coast that aims to open another 5,500 acres of farmland in Aurora, also funded through LCDS resources.
These projects come amid the Government’s broader push to diversify Guyana’s agricultural base beyond rice and sugar.
“So, these are just part of some of the things we’ve started on. People don’t even see this, but when completed in another couple of years’ time, we will add nearly 90,000 acres of new land for cultivation. Considering now we’re cultivating about 228,000 acres in rice. So, it’s like more than a third of that, just adding new production and new output. We don’t necessarily have to put it all in rice because we’re launching a massive new programme for other crops and livestock. You’re going to see the manifesto on livestock industry; a huge programme for all sorts of thing,” Jagdeo noted.
Key initiatives include the expansion of poultry and pig production, with investments in feed security via local corn and soya production, embryo transfer technology to scale high-quality cattle breeds, with targets to reach 3,000 embryos annually, scaling up the Black Belly Sheep project, with a goal of reaching 60,000–70,000 animals to support both local consumption and exports, support for aquaculture innovation, including cage fishing that is already seeing success in several communities and new infrastructure and partnerships to support agribusiness and agro-processing development.
The VP emphasised that these projects are also part of Guyana’s broader economic plan, with each region being integrated into national development through both sectoral and regional strategies.